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Saturday, 13 May 2017

Hello, it's me. I was wondering if anybody was still kicking about this part of the internet, now that the dust has settled and my URL expired because I didn't update it promptly, digital native that I am. Still, having experienced a little bit of aching nostalgia about outfit posting and fashion blogging on my Instagram recently, I've realised there are at least three of you who are still interested in the various shenanigans of the life of Belpo, and three is more than enough for me, frankly. If anything, too many. I've sort of been in an odd purgatory recently between wanting to peacock at an Olympic gold standard on social media and living a hermit existence away from the various online stresses. Maybe it's because the world seems to have reached a new level of bizarre and wearing nice outfits doesn't feel like enough. Maybe it's because my compulsive oversharing has all but ruined any possibility of mystique. But existential online crises aside, sometimes a pair of magical trousers and a lush green garden come together for a perfect blogging marriage...
There have been some extremely important pairs of trousers in my life. There were the Wrong Trousers on Wallace and Gromit, an VHS (remember those?) I played to death as a child. Then there were the secondary school uniform trousers, which I always claimed were just not tight enough compared to my female counterparts, who had far cooler versions. There was my first pair of skinny jeans, in the height of the emo era, which were grey and far too baggy to constitute a real pair of skinnies. And then there were the actual skinny jeans, the tube pants from American Apparel, which were so figure hugging that they probably caused me lifelong damage and eventually ripped at the butt. And then, and then, there were these. If you had told me, five years ago, that I would be wearing yellow crop flares I would have laughed in your face, which would have been pretty rude. But over the last few years I have gotten over my fear of any trousers that aren't sprayed to my ankles and started to embrace more daring and masculine shapes. And it's been a necessary journey indeed, because these trousers are sunshine and light, and although they're more difficult to style they are instantly eye catching.
I donned these trousers for a trip down to the beautiful Botanical Gardens in Oxford, because for some reason I'm really into plants at the moment. I wonder if this phase will last as long as my Olsen Twins, Bratz Dolls and Horses phases. I used to run a mile when my parents would try and make me take any interest in nature or learn the name of a flower, but living in a city I think you start to appreciate the natural world and its processes a little bit more. Much like the trousers, I would have scoffed at the idea of taking anything but a purely aesthetic interest in gardens and plants many years ago, but more recently, I could genuinely see myself hugging a tree. What is life if not about change and growth?Jacket - SecondhandTrousers - TopshopShirt - H&MShoes - PrimarkBag - Black Cat CafeSunglasses - Unif

I also need to mention this amazing jacket, my one clothing purchase from New York. For some reason I don't seem to get along with American clothing, I rarely ever seem to find anything out there that really suits me. But I picked up this gem in a junk shop in North Brooklyn for just $5, and it is fast becoming my Spring/Summer staple jacket - it goes with everything! Anywaaays, I hope you enjoy these photos of me swanning around, at one with nature...